TASK # 2.

Harrison Bergeron.

Role: Passage person.

“THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal
before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter
than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was
stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th,
and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents
of the United States Handicapper General.”

“And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel
Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.”

“Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about
anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above
normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.”
“Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to
keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.”

These opening paragraphs are important therefore it gives information about the
context of the short story to be told. Also, it is the first contact of the reader with the
text, it can motivate you to read it or not, but its purpose is to connect with the
reader. In there, is the description of the main characters with their characteristics,
where they live and how they live.
It gives a preview of the events that will follow in the story, in this case is the capture
of Harrison. That’s why this first part is the most important, for understanding the
development of the story.

“He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son who was now in jail, about
Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that.”

This small sentence shows us that even though they were designed not to have
feelings and not to remember sad things or things that would make them change
their thinking towards the government, in very short moments they thought about
what happened and they tried to think about that. Despite the government had all
over control, these little things like feelings were not and probably in the future all the
system will go down because the capacity of people to reflect, as they show us
Hazel and George do it.

"Why don't you stretch out on the sofa, so's you can rest your handicap bag on the
pillows, honeybunch." She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a
canvas bag, which was padlocked around George's neck.”
Something very peculiar is raised here, the story starts describing that George had
an intelligence way above normal and because of that he wore that device in the
neck. But, in a few paragraphs later, they describe that Harrison wore something
bigger than his father and he wasn’t less intelligent, by contrast he was the only one
who realized that the things the government was doing. So, this allows a conclusion
to be drawn and it’s that the bigger the device, the more intelligent the people were
and a greater risk for the regime.

"Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen," she said in a grackle squawk, "has just escaped
from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.
He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as
extremely dangerous."

This passage also talks about Harrison and why he was killed and had the biggest
device. He was one of the most intelligent person in the story and he was the only
one who reacted to the government's imposition. Here it’s the same as his father, he
didn’t wear the biggest device because he was the least intelligent, he wore it
because he was the only one that realizes the truth.

"My God-" said George, "that must be Harrison!"

“The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an automobile
collision in his head.”

"You've been crying," he said to Hazel.

"Yup," she said.
"What about?" he said.
"I forget," she said. "Something real sad on television."
"What was it?" he said.
"It's all kind of mixed up in my mind," said Hazel.
"Forget sad things," said George.
"I always do," said Hazel.
"That's my girl," said George. He winced. There was the sound of a rivetting
gun in his head.
"Gee - I could tell that one was a doozy," said Hazel.

At the end of the story, Harrison's parents noticed something very sad on the TV, but
they never had the capacity to identify that the boy killed was his son and that he
was killed because he opposed to what the government imposed. Also in few parts
they tried to react but it was never possible.
Finally, the reading is a dystopian short story that explores the consequences of
extreme equality. In a future society, the government enforces equality by
handicapping individuals with above-average abilities, thus suppressing any form of
excellence. The story's conclusion is both tragic and thought-provoking, as it depicts
the protagonist, Harrison Bergeron, breaking free from his handicaps and briefly
experiencing true freedom and individuality before being killed by the government's
agents. This ending highlights the dangers of extreme attempts to achieve equality,
raising questions about the balance between individuality and equality in society.
It leaves us with an open question as to what is best for society.